El Arnab is a traditional Arab solitaire based on the general equipment and gameplay of mancala games.
To begin the game, the player takes all the seeds from the pit at the upper left corner of the rows, and relay-sows them counterclockwise.
This relay sowing (and thus the game itself) never ends; it is meant to be just a pastime.
In his 1925 article R. Davies stated that the pattern repeats every 26 circuits; but he miscounted.
His informant, an elderly Arab, seems to have been aware of this; when Davies said he counted 26 the informant made a joke that apparently went over Davies' head ('Ah, a skilled player could do it in less.